Mad Tea Party
by picketywitch
Summary: Alice / Mad Hatter drabble
1. Chapter 1

_Characters belong to Lewis Carroll, and are based on the Disneyland face character versions of the characters, mostly inspired by the Disneyland Resort Paris cast._

_This is kinda just a drabble. I've not written anything in over two years, please bare that in mind when reading it! Plus I'm not a serious writer, it's just something I do now and then for fun. I can't promise any regular updates or if it will EVER get updated. I have to be in the mood to write, and if I'm not, it's just not gonna happen._

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She looked at the bizarre man over her cup of steaming tea with a mixture of contempt and curiosity. It was strange: when he was behaving like a normal human being she almost liked him. She watched him soberly sip from the dainty tea cup and found herself thinking that he was actually quite attractive. Of course his nose was much too large; he had obviously received three other persons share when God was giving them out. In fact the wretched man was so greedy he had probably dare ASK. Alice smiled to herself at the very image of it. She was suddenly reminded of the Freudian theory regarding the size of a mans nose and flushed a deep shade of crimson.

The Mad Hatter noticed her blush and felt curious as to why, as no one had said anything. In fact a great deal of emotion had flashed across her usually expressionless face in the last few minutes. The Hatter lent back in his chair, feeling triumphant. The young woman clearly wasn't as sane as she liked to claim. This thought gave him rather too much satisfaction.

Alice saw the mad man lean back in his seat and smile to himself. She assumed it was with content. She couldn't deny it – the Hatter had a beautiful, charismatic smile. Of course, it was usually laced with a disturbing sense of insanity, but it was beautiful none the less. She looked up past the unreasonable amount of nose and saw his greeny-blue eyes sparkling from under the brim of his hat. Alice quickly looked away again, fearing he would look up and get the completely wrong end of the stick as was so usual of him. Instead she focused her attention on the Chinese lanterns hanging down from above as she pondered. She was suddenly furious with herself for thinking fondly of such a repulsive man. She remembered the times he had personally insulted her, man-handled her when he insisted on everybody changing seats, and not to mention his other absurd behaviours, such as pouring tea down his front for kicks.

Alice shot a poisonous look at the March Hare. Not that the poor Hare had done anything at all, he was simply the only other person there, which was a good enough reason for Alice. The March Hare felt her burning gaze and gingerly looked up, completely unnerved by her sudden change of attitude. The fact that she said nothing only made him feel more on edge. He looked away from Alice to his long time companion for support, but the Hatter seemed preoccupied. The Hare returned his puzzled gaze back to the teapot he was holding, before turning back to Alice nervously.

"Have some more tea!" he said in an encouraging tone.

"No thank you." Alice replied curtly. She sighed and dropped her head into her hands, dropping her gaze to the tablecloth.

The March Hare breathed a sign of relief and settled comfortably back to his business, taking another crumpet as he did so.

Alice caught the bright orange of the Hatter's overcoat in the corner of her vision as he fidgeted. She looked up to see him smiling smugly at her.

"What on _Earth_ is your problem?" Alice snapped.

The March Hare dropped his crumpet in astonishment from the sudden outburst. He looked at his snack mournfully and pondered whether he could get away with picking it back up.

The Mad Hatter continued to smile at Alice knowingly. "_My_ problem?" he replied. "Why I do believe that it should be _me_ asking _you_ that question, my dear." He leant across the table towards Alice, leaning his chin on his templed fingers. The smile never wavered, which unnerved everyone around him.

Alice was lost for words and could only stare at him open mouthed with disbelief.

"What ever do you mean?" she spluttered at last.

"Why do you keep staring at me?" he probed. He enjoyed watching her squirm immensely. Especially seeing the pale pink slowly rise up her cheeks. She was one of the few girls who looked pretty when embarrassed, the flush brightening up her otherwise colourless features.

Alice cleared her throat and tried to compose herself whilst giving herself time to think. The Hare had suddenly become overly interested in the buttons of his waistcoat, wondering to himself if anybody would notice if he disappeared inside.

The young woman looked up at the mad man coldly. He continued to smile.

"I was remembering the utter rudeness you have suffered me and wondering why I am even here!" Alice stood up slamming her hand on the table, upsetting the tableware and causing it to rattle. She straightened her blue skirts indignantly and stormed off.

"Why exactly _do_ you keep coming back?" the Hatter asked.

Alice stopped in her tracks, taken off guard. She hesitated, unsure of what to say. In all honesty, she had no idea why she kept coming back. After all, she had never been invited.

She turned back to the Mad Hatter. "I attend to visit my friend the March Hare," she said slowly, over emphasizing each word. The March Hare looked up. This was news to him, although he did wish he hadn't been dragged into this. "This is _his_ tea party after all." Alice added triumphantly.

The Hatter's dark eyebrows knitted together. He looked deeply hurt. "You don't enjoy visiting me?" he asked pathetically.

Alice felt a twinge of guilt. Had she gone too far? She looked at him suspiciously, unsure of whether he was being truthful or not.

"Well do you enjoy _my_ company?" Alice retorted.

"Very much so."

Alice was taken by surprise. "Well you darn well have a funny way of showing it!" she began to shout once again. "You're constantly offending me, you never allow me to finish my tea in peace…"

"So that you don't feel left out!" the Hatter cut in. "I do the same to Hare." He added as if that excused it. The conversation paused as both Alice and the Mad Hatter looked at the March Hare, waiting for a response.

"I think I hear someone at the door!" the Hare suddenly exclaimed and ran inside.

Alice looked back the Hatter, frustration burning in her eyes.

"You didn't answer my question." The Hatter reminded her. "Do you enjoy visiting me?"

"I most certainly do not!"

"I don't believe you." The Hatter was smiling wider than the Cheshire Cat, which caused him to look even more deranged than usual.

"Believe what you wish, I'm leaving." Alice swung round, but before she could take more than a few steps, the Hatter was suddenly leaning on the table in front of her.

"You're cute when you're angry." He told her, playfully tugging at a lock of her blonde hair. She looked into his eyes distrustfully, but was met with nothing but sincerity.

"Whatever now?" she sighed, unsure of his angle.

"How about dinner? Tomorrow night is good for me, how about you?"

"How dare you!" she said venomously. The Hatter rolled his eyes and sighed. She was off again.

"Why not? You might even find that you like me under different circumstances." He pleaded. "I won't let you go until you say yes." He added, pinning her arms to her sides and holding her there.

The looked at each other for what felt like an eternity, him still wearing the simple grin.

Alice raised her eyes to Heaven, knowing she was about to regret her next actions. "Very well," she sighed, surrendering.

The Mad Hatter let out a squeal of delight as he hugged her. Alice was quick to push him off.

"Let us get a few things straight right now" she said authoritatively. "You are _not_ to touch me _at all,_ without my permission. I have had a proper upbringing and I expect you to respect that. There is to be no more 'clean cup'. You are not to make _any _personal remarks towards me. And this is just a meal, it means _nothing_."

The Hatter nodded a little too enthusiastically. Alice flounced off before he could ask any more of her.

"I'll pick you up at 7!" he called after her back.

Once she was outside the gate of the March Hare's garden Alice stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts. What on Earth had she let herself in for?


	2. Chapter 2

**The second and final part. I apologise for it coming to abit of a halt and then ending, but I ran out of ideas and just wanted to finish it.**

**And any reviews would be nice to recieve, I know people are reading this **

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The Mad Hatter had tried unusually hard with his appearance this evening, and had eventually opted for a navy three piece suit. He looked every bit the Victorian gentleman, and he hated it. He paused on his way out, dithering over whether to take his hat or not. He knew Alice hated it, but he was a hatter, and what was a hatter without a hat? A very sad individual indeed. He placed the oversized green top hat over his silver curls and took comfort in the fact that it at least livened up his otherwise dull attire.

Alice had had an even harder time selecting an outfit, although she would never admit it. She wanted to make it clear that she had no interest in him, yet of course she still wanted to look nice. She had carefully selected her crimson velvet gown with bustle, and had spent most of the day patiently curling her hair into ringlets. God only knew who would see them out together and she had to ensure that she looked perfectly respectable. Though next to whatever he had dreamed up for an outfit, she imagined such a task wasn't going to be difficult.

She heard a tap at her front door and went to answer it nervously, cursing herself for having butterflies in her stomach. Why on Earth was she allowing herself to get so worked up over such a fool?

When she opened the door she was astounded at the Hatter's normal appearance. The Hatter smiled at her reaction sheepishly.

"You could at least have left that ludicrous hat at home." She scolded as she composed herself and closed the door behind her.

The Mad Hatter rolled his eyes as he tried to take her by the arm, and was not prepared for the sudden slap across his cheek as Alice tore herself out of his grasp.

"I thought I had made myself _quite_ clear that you are not to touch me without my permission." She said bitterly.

The Hatter touched his now sore face with shock and looked at her forlornly. Alice looked away, refusing to feel bad, and carried on down the gravel path. The mad man followed her glumly.

"Where are we going?" Alice asked, trying to lighten the mood once more.

"Abbey's" he replied enthusiastically, the previous incident already forgotten.

"You're taking me to dinner at a tea room? Alice said slowly, ensuring that she had heard correctly. The Hatter nodded eagerly.

Alice sighed and carried on, knowing that she shouldn't be surprised by his decision. The positive aspect of the situation was of course that no one she knew would be there. Every cloud.

The short walk there was unusually quiet and uneventful. When they reached their destination the Hatter held the door of the tea room open for her nervously, cowering as though he expected another beating for it. Alice stepped through the door gratefully, unsure of whether to take her companions manner seriously or not.

She quickly sat at a small table with only two chairs, inwardly praying that there would be no "move down, move down" business.

"So how was your day?" she asked conversationally.

"Much the same as all the others." The Hatter replied bluntly.

Alice could think of nothing to say to that and so the conversation died. She looked down at the lace tablecloth and wondered to herself why he had brought her here. After all, it was hardly different than the March Hare's tea parties. Although at least here the Hatter was behaving fairly normally, that was one major difference. Alice thought how much more attractive he looked in this choice of outfit rather then his usual attire. The Mad Hatter thought of kiwi fruits and how they differed from the bird.

"What are you thinking of?" Alice asked him curiously, rousing him from his thoughts.

The Mad Hatter looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Your hair wants cutting." he finally announced, smiling broadly.

Such a comment would usually cause Alice to snap, but she let it go which surprised both of them.

"Well_ I_ was thinking how much better you look in that suit rather than your usual choice of get up." Alice said patiently.

The Hatter looked pleased though slightly surprised. "Well I'm pleased _you_ like it, _I_ think it's a miserable excuse of an outfit. I look like my grandfather."

"You've never mentioned your family before" Alice remarked curiously.

"That's because there's nothing to mention" he snapped back.

Alice frowned. Their sandwiches arrived before she could say anything. They ate in a comfortable silence.

After "dinner" and much tea and small talk, the Mad Hatter walked Alice home. He waved her off enthusiastically with both hands as she closed the door on him, and Alice was pleased to note that he had asked for nothing more from her. She watched him leave by climbing over her gate instead of walking through it for reasons known only to himself. She giggled to herself at the sight.

Alice made her way to her bedroom for the night. Maybe the Hatter wasn't quite as vile as she had originally thought.


End file.
